As one of those due image-forming methods using a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material, there is a method for forming dyes by the reaction of photographic couplers with a color developing agent. As the photographic couplers for use in the ordinary color reproduction, magenta, yellow and cyan couplers are used, while as the color developing agent, an aromatic primary amine-type color developing agent is used; these couplers and the color developing agent, in their reaction, form azomethine dyes, indoaniline dyes and the like.
Normally, such couplers are incorporated separately into a plurality of light-sensitive layers to be coated. In addition to these light-sensitive layers, also into non-light-sensitive layers and a protective layer may be incorporated an anti-color-mixing agent, ultraviolet absorbing agent and the like for improving the image quality, dye image preservability and the like of a light-sensitive photographic material.
Thus, a silver halide light-sensitive photographic material contains a large number of such addivitives so as to adequately exhibit the characteristics of its silver halide. These additives include various compounds ranging from water-soluble compounds to water-insoluble compounds.
Of these compounds, those water-insoluble or less-soluble compounds; i.e., hydrophobic compounds, include dye image forming couplers, ultraviolet absorbing agents, anti-color-image-discoloration agents, anti-color-mixing agents, redox compounds, antifogging agents, and the like.
In order to incorporation such agents or compounds into a hydrophilic colloid layer, they are required to be finely dispersed in the oil-in-water-type or oil-protect-type form into the layer.
As methods for the above-mentioned dispersion of such hydrophobic compounds there are those methods wherein a hydrophobic compound is dispersed along with an organic solvent such as dibutyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate or the like in the presence of a surface active agent as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,322,027, 2,835,579 and 3,748,141, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 24288/1979, and Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to as Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) No. 114940/1981; and those methose wherein a hydrophobic compound is dispersed along with a high-molecular compound as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,772,163 and 2,852,382, and Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 25133/1976.
These methods, however, have such problems that they cause the color formability and light resistance to be deteriorated; or they, even if harmless to the color formability and light resistance, if the dye image is preserved under a highly moist condition, cause the gloss of the dye image-bearing layer's surface to be deteriorated; and so forth.